Sheep shears



Jan. 15 1924.

lF. N. L. WILLETT SHEEP SHEARS Filed July 19, 1920 NN ww. wwwwwow ww .A QN

- INVEN TOR. frml; I/.L mz van WITNESS:

A TTRNEY.

Patented Jan. 15, 1924.

UNITE STATES FRANK N. L. WILLETT,

or AURORA, ILLINOIS.

SHEEP sHEaRs.

Application filed July 19,

To all whom. it may concern.'

Be it known that I, FRANK N. L. WILLIE-rr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Aurora, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and use- JI`ul Improvements in Sheep Shears, .of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the 'reference characters marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. j

This invention relates to an improvement in animal shears and has for its object to provide improved means for preventing wear of the parts and thus obviating frequent replacement.

Sheep shears on the market at the present time are generally of the construction illustrated `in my prior Patent No. 896,497, of August 18, 1908, and the patent to Bartlett,

No. 1,301,089, dated April 22, 1919, and embrace a lvibrator fulcrumed upon a pivot post,'-the vibrator carrying movable cutters. One .serious objection to the pivot postconstruction lies in the fact that the .wear between the parts is not even and ,affects the ycontact ofthe movable cutters over the comb `or fixed cutters, necessitating constant adjustment of the movable cutter with respect to the fixed cutter. Presently this `irregularity between the fixed pivot post and the vibrating arm carrying. the cutters,l becomes so serious as to necessitate renewal of the parts vconstituting the fulcrurn. Such renewals, ink sheep shearing `season,-,are frequently made every two or three days. j j

. In that form in which I have chosenA to illustrate my invention, Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a conventional sheep shears em-` bodyingmy invention... j Fig. 2 is vva central, vertical, longitudinal, sectional viewv thereof.

Fig. 3 is a group view offour parts constituting the fulcrum mechanism.

Fig. .L1 is `a vertical, sectional V-view of a detail showing the fulcrum arrangement of the said Bartlett Patent No. 1,301,089. @The sheep shears illustrated comprise a handle `orcasing `1, having a removable cover'2, heldin place by means of 'a screw or screws 3. The cover is provided at its 1920. Serial No. 397,319.

outer end with a hood or dome portion 4 in which is housed the tensioning or adjusting device indicated generally at 5. The adjusting device forms no part of the present invention and need not be further described. It will be apparent, however, that it ybears upon the outer portion of the vibrating arm that carries the cutter blades.

Within the casing 1 is mounted a sleeve 6, longitudinally apertured, centrally, to provide a journal bearing for a drive shaft 7. The inner end of the sleeve 6 hasscrew threaded connection with the casing 1 and is securedthereto by a set screw 3. The outer end of the sleeve 6 is provided with an `annular fiange 8 which bears against the shoulder 9 of a rotatable sleeve or bushing 10, interposed between the fixed sleeve 6 and the casingy 1. The fixed sleeve 6 is of dif'- ferent diameters as shown in Fig. 2. The casing 1 has lan interior annular shoulder 11 against which the inner end of the rotating sleeve or bushing 10 and the shoulder 12 of the fixed sleeve will bear.` The sleeve 6 has two oil holes, 13, 14, the latter communicating with the oil chamber 15 in the casing 1. Access to the oil chamber 15 will be had through the casing aperture shown as closed'by thek screw plug 16. The oil hole 13 is in that part of the sleeve 6 which is within the rotating sleeve 10.

At its inner end, the drive shaft` 7 is provided withr a crank disc 17 having a crank pin 18. This cra-nkjpin is connected with theinner forkedend 19 of the vibrator or vibrating arm 20; thecrank pin r18 being `insertedrbetween the arms of the fork and movingbetween the same when the `shaft 7 is rotated to operate the vibrator. The vibrator 20 is fulcrumed upon' a pivot post and when caused to vibrate aboutsaid fixed post, will operate the movable cutter 21 carried thereby. The cutter 21 cooperates with the fixed cutter or comb 22, which latterfis removably secured to the casing 1 as indicatedat 28.

The outer end of the rotatable bushing 10 is provided with an enlarged partv21frotatable inthe casing, to form one of the members cfa joint. The other member 25 of the joint, is connected to the housing 26 of van. operating shaft 27 which shaft is actuated;

pin proper, 30, providedwithr a screw threaded plug 31, with an intermedia-te shoulder 32.` The :plug :3,1 is'screw threaded through a suitable 'aperture inthe casing l and locked in said position by the nut 34.

"washerv 35 is placed' over the fulcrum pin 30 and restsupmithe'shoulder 32; HAn antifr'iction, hfemispherical" member 36, provided'witli -central" verticalfaperture 37 is placed over the vfu'lcruin pin '30, its lower surface" being straight, rests vrdirectlyl "upon the vvslie'rl'.`

'The vibrating arm QOis provided with an 'interiorlyfscrew threaded aperture 3,8'to receiv'e a "hearing plug 39. Ini'the under surface of the'plug-'39`is a recessv LO complementaly to theleXter-ior' surface' and shape of the hemispherical memberf *This recess 40, of course, may be formed directly inthe under side or faceof the l'vibrator arm-20, in which case, the `plugf39 will not be used;` It will be understood,therefore, that when the vibrating arm 20 is in operative position, the 'several parts shownin Fig. `3`will appear assembled'as indicatediinFig/Q. Y ""'i i Theos'cillation of the arm y2() about the pinl will cause the member 36 to-` slightly rotate aboutvv the fulcruin pin '30 andlthe washer 35 will also;slightly'irotate.'"Suitable lubrication between'the bearing surfaces thememb'er' and thefrecess tOfwill be aforded'through an oil hole 41.

Referringuiowmore particularly to they prior art construction 4illustrated in'Fig.y 4,- Aj' i represents the f housing member corresponding -to the 'casing 1';` B the vibrating arm `vcorrespondingto the arm 20; yand G a screw"` threaded tfulcruin plug heldY to the housing' Abyfthe4 nut D and provided 'with an `antifrictijon spherical topE, resting ina s'iiitabl'e'rece'ss R5 inv `the Vunder side'of the plugI-' This 4rece'ssfis somewhat tapered,

L `provided with a 'rounded'bott'omg vcomplemental with the spherical hea'dfE ofthe fulcr'um` plug C-f'l/Vhen the yvibrating"arm B' Yos'cillates"back and forth about'tlie fixed plugthe contacting surfacesbetweenthe plug P and the spherical' end E; grinda'nd wear awayv s of thatfiiat portionsf'appear. This ,edE soun be'mesfnolongersphefial. v lThe resultof thisvv'earing'f-away offtheend of the fixedpllug 'dueftoltlie rapid motinof the- :vibrating i arm prior constructions now on the market, as already stated, so changes the adjustment of the forward and operating end of the vibrating arm B as to impair the efficiency of the cutting' operation and of the tension device. The result isfthat the `plug 'P and the fulcrum pin C have to be constantly renewed and very seldom last during more than two or three days of shearing.-

The improved fulcrum construction shown in Fig. 2, I have used continuously in shearing several thousands of sheep without impairing' theeifective tension contact of the cutter blades 2l, 22 and without renewal of the parts. Infact, after using my improved fulcr'u'rn 'construction in the shearing of ,several thousands of sheep, I have found that of the fulcruinpin O for 4the reason that thel tension device 5 pressed the plug P and the spherical head E-o'f the fulcrum pin C so firmly together as toipr'event lubrication. In my device, asillustrated `in Fig. 2, the

vibration of the'-arm ZOtends to shift the hermisphierical member "36'and turn it in a horizontal plane about 'the airis 'of the fuicrum'pin' 30. `Thi`s` lshifting of position has the'eifec't of working thelubricant from the t 'aperture' il downffover the 'outersurface' of the member, so'th'atsaid`- outersurface and the interior f contacting Asl'lrfaceloff the recess 2l() do not grindupon each other but are at all times properly lubricated.

In'prior constructions, the friction between ,th'e rotatable bushing 10y and the iiXed sleeve G'has caused considerable trouble and Vexpense.` Lubricant in the/'oil'chamber 15 finds its way through the oilhole lli'to the shaft '7 throughout'its length, but because ofthe shoulders 11, 12,doe's` not normally pass to the inner surface of the'rotatable bushing 10. 'ffHence vI'have''provided as an improvement the 'oil' a'ierturel "By ,so doing, the oil'wfill gradually'coll'ect therein from the shaft 7 andthen passbetween'the sleeves Yand bushingA 10,-r` and keep" their bearing surfaces properly lubricated.- This is' a very important feature.

It will be seen"thatmy device is simple in construction," easily assembled and 'will last idelinitelyt-that is, fas 4long' as the tool prope'rwilllast. 1"?" i 4*" V f 'f `Y 'It' willbe understood, of course, that while I prefer tousethe? washer 35, V'the lsame 'may beffoniiaeasiaee 'meander' atfsurface'lf the hemispherical member 36 may rest directly upon the shoulder 32`of the fulcrum stud F. i

I claim as my invention:

l. A fulcrum for sheep shears comprising a support and a vibrating arm provided with a rounded recess on its lower surface, in combination with a fulcrum stud on said support and extending into said recess, and a bearing member rotatably mounted on said stud and resting on said support, said bearing member having an upper portion located in said recess and shaped to conform to the curvature of the latter.

2. A fulcrum for sheep shears comprising a support and a vibrating arm in combination with a fulcrum stud on the support, an opening through the arm, an aper- 'tured plug removably mounted in Said opening and having a hemispherical recess in its underside, and a bearing member rotatably mounted on the stud and resting on said support and having its top complementally shaped to enter the plug recess.

8. A fulcrum for sheep shears comprising in combination with a support and a vibrating arm, a fulcrum Stud vertically mounted in the support and having a horizontally arranged circumferential shoulder, a washer on the stud-shoulder, an interiorly threaded opening through thevibrator arm, an exteriorly threaded plug removably located in said opening, said plug having on its under side a hemispherical recess and an axial aperture through its top in communication with the recess, and an aper- `tured bearing member rotatably mounted on the stud, said member being hemispherical on its top to engage the plug recess and flat on its bottom to bear on the washer.

4. The improvement in sheep shears comprising a casing having an annular interior shoulder, a shouldered sleeve fixed in the casing with its shoulder in contact with the casing shoulder, a rotatable shaft in the sleeve, a bushing rotatably mounted between the sleeve and the casing` in rear of the aforesaid casing shoulder, an oil chamber in the casing forward of its shoulder, an aperture through the sleeve forward of its shoulder and in communication with the oil chamber, and a second aperture through the sleeve in rear of its shoulder and connecting the interior shaft bearing surface with the exterior bushing bearing surface.

5. In a sheep shears, a casing, a sleeve fixed therein, a shaft rotatable in said sleeve, an oil'chamber in the casing, means for directing oil from said chamber to said shaft, a rotatable sleeve within the casing. and surrounding one part of the lirst mentioned sleeve, and an oil passa eway in the first mentioned sleeve connecting the shaft with the inner surface of the rotatable sleeve.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I aiix my signature, in the presence of two wit-nesses, this 10th day of July, 1920.

FRANK N. L. WILLETT. Witnesses:

TAYLOR E. BROWN, B; L. MAGGREGOR. 

